ryanc’s blog

I was very happy with our group’s presentation this time around. Our first group presentation was a disaster and we all were very disappointed with the result. This time around we promised one another we’d meet more often and practice the speech before presenting it to the class. I really liked the type of speech we chose (toast), because we were able to make it into a speech. Some of the original ideas we thought about would’ve appeared to the audience as more of a conversation, rather than an actual scripted speech. 

The best part of our speech was that we all practiced and knew our individual lines. We knew what was on the outline and we basically memorized what needed to be said. This is so important becuase it keeps the audiences’ attention and makes you much more confortable as your speaking. I know that I wasn’t prepared near enough for our first group speech and it showed by the tone of my voice and my body language. I felt this speech started strong and progressed so much better thanks to practice by every member.

I was in charge of the introduction and my main goal was to get the audience to realize right away what the event was and to get them to feel as thought they were part of the event. We wanted the audience to feel like they were at the wedding in order to keep their interest. I think overall I did a pretty good job of this. I also was in charge of the closing; however, we exceeded our time limit by a few seconds and we didn’t have time for my last few lines. I believe this was the biggest problem with our speech. We practiced multiple times, but didn’t take into account dead time. It is a lot easier to practice and recite a speech in front of no audience than it is in front of one. All of us took longer than we accounted for and it ended up costing us a little bit. We also didn’t account for the time it would take each speaker to stand up and walk to the microphone/podium and I think this is a big reason why we ran out of time.

In closing, the speech went much better than I thought. I felt like we kept the audiences attention by using a mixture of seriousness and humor, and did a good job speaking on the words we had in the outline. I think the biggest room for improvement is to practice as if there is an audience, or maybe even gather up a few of our friends to create an audience and recite the speech to them. As an individual I need to work on calming my nerves before I speak, because I still felt some anxiety and nerves when I gave the introduction. If I’m having nerves with four other group members standing next to me, I’m going to be much more nervous during the next speech when I’m by myself. I plan to find ways to fix this problem over the next few days days before speech #4.

Overall, I thought our group speech went alright. I knew we were going to struggle and be hard-pressed for time, but I feel like the grade we received was a fair assesment of our presentation. The main reason our presentation was ineffective was because of our group’s lack of communcation. Only a few people showed up to our first meeting so none of us knew who was really doing what. Mark and I got together and put an entire presentation and outline together because we weren’t sure if our other group members did it or not. When we arrived before class we found out they had and all the time we spent on our presentation, outline and power point was for nothing.

Although the communication lacked we got together as a group and exchanged email addresses and phone numbers to avoid the problem from occuring again. We are also not going to procrastinate as much and start planning and preparing our speeches earlier.

I felt like I did a good job during my parts of the speech. I wasn’t near as nervous as I usually am when I present by myself. I like group speeches because they make you feel more comfortable in front of your audience. I thought I did a good job with my tone and eye contact, but felt like room for improvement should come from better preparation and knowledge of the material.

In closing, I thought our group did a pretty good job despite all the things we failed to do. For our next speech, we will be in constant communication in the days prior to the speech. This will make everyone in the group know their respected role and material, thus increasing the overall effectiveness of the presentation. As a group we must also practice the speech together, so we know if we will meet, fall short of, or exceed the time requirement.

As I mentioned in my self-introduction speech, I have a very hard time speaking in front of people. I did the best I could to try and laugh and create some humor within my speech so that I wouldn’t feel as nervous. I think I showed some signs of nervousness, such as eye contact (I felt I looked down a lot), stuttering and I’m sure my face turned very red.

As for my three main points are concerned, I think they were presented well and I finished my speech just before the 3 minute mark. I thought the strongest parts of my speech were my transitions. I did the best I could transitioning from one main point to the next. Although I thought I did a relatively good job on this speech, there is definitely room for improvement for the next one.

Ethics are very important when it comes to both listening and speaking. Some specific things such as posture, eye contact, being open-minded and showing respect are important for both ethical listening and speaking. I also learned that plagarism can be done in different forms such as globally, patchwork or incremental.

My name is Ryan Connors and I am a Senior majoring in Sport Enterprise. One interesting thing about me is I lived in 5 different places from birth to the time I entered 4th grade. I was born in Boardman, OH then moved to Dublin, OH. From there my family moved to Seattle, WA for a few years before leaving for Saratoga Springs, NY. I then ended up in Canfield, OH where I’ve lived ever since the 4th grade.

Another unique thing about me is I come from very large families. My mom is one of five children and my dad is one of eight! I have 10 first cousins on my mothers side and another 11 on my dads. Family is very important in my life and every holiday is always spent with one (if not both) sides of it. Only one of my grandparents isn’t still living and he passed away a year before I was born.

The last unique thing about me is I am a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity here at BGSU. I rushed my first semester in college, which was Fall 2005. Since rushing I have held numerous leadership positions such as special events chairman, social chair and philanthropy chair. I served as the President of my fraternity from Spring 2008 through this past Fall semester. After completing my term as President I was then elected as Recruitment chairman for this current Spring semester. I enjoy the fraternity experience because it keeps me involved on campus, enables me to meet a ton of new people and the social benefits are always a plus as well.